Helping our students: Strategy two

Richland's A Framework for Understanding Poverty professional development series is underway again, with this year's sessions highlighting ways in which concepts from Ruby Payne's book have impacted the Richland campus.

 

The library wants to support this endeavor by helping faculty, staff, and administrators find the articles featured in Payne's companion book Research-Based Strategies: Narrowing the Achievement Gap for Under-Resourced Students.

 

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. (Located in the Richland Teaching Collection at LB 1060 .H672 2000.) Also available as an ebook (access requires a DCCCD I.D.).

Donovan, M.S., & Bransford, J.D. (2005). How students learn: History, mathematics, and science in the classroom. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Hill, H.C., Blunk, M.L., Charalambous, Y., Lewis, J.M., Phelps, G.C., Sleep, L., et. Al. (2008). Mathematical knowledge for teaching and the mathematical quality of instruction: An exploratory study. Cognition and Instruction, 26(4), 430-511.

Kilpatrick, J., Swafford, J., & Findell, B. (Eds.) (2001). Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. Washington, DC: Mathematics Learning Study Committee, National Research Council.

Krauss, S., Burnner, M., Kunter, M., Baumert, J., Neubrand, M., Blum, W., et al. (2008) Pedagogical content knowledge and content knowledge of secondary mathematics teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(3), 716-725. Available for purchase at APA PsychNET or request through interlibrary loan.

Senge, P., Ross, R., Smithe, B., Roberts, C., & Kleiner, A. (1994). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization. New York: Doubleday-Currency.

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Assessment for teaching: An initiative for the profession. Phi Delta Kappan, 69(1), 38-44. Request through interlibrary loan.

Helping our students: Strategy one, part two

Richland's A Framework for Understanding Poverty professional development series is underway again, with this year's sessions highlighting ways in which concepts from Ruby Payne's book have impacted the Richland campus.

The library wants to support this endeavor by helping faculty, staff, and administrators find the articles featured in Payne's companion book Research-Based Strategies: Narrowing the Achievement Gap for Under-Resourced Students.

Mattox, K., Hancock, D. R., & Queen, J. A. (2005). The effect of block scheduling on middle school students’ mathematics achievement. NASSP Bulletin, 89(642), 3-13.

Rocha, E. (2003). Expanded learning time in actions: Initiatives in high-poverty and high-minority schools and districts. Retrieved September 23, 2013, from Center for American Progress website: http://www.americanprogress.org.

Swan, K., Van 't Hooft, M., Kratcoski, A., & Unger, D. (2005). Uses and effects of mobile computing devices in K-8 classrooms. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 38(1), 99-112.

Williams, A., Rouse, K., Seals, C., & Gilbert, J. (2009). Enhancing reading literacy in elementary children using programming for scientific simulations. Interntional Journal on E-Learning, 8(1), 57-69. Available for purchase at Ed/ITLib Digital Library or request through interlibrary loan.

Wright, J. C., & Huston, A. C. (1995). Effects of educational TV viewing of lower income preschoolers on academic skills, school readiness, and school adjustment one to three years later: A report to Children's Television Workshop. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas, Center for Research on the Influences of Television on Children. Request through interlibrary loan or find a library.

Research-Based Strategies was introduced during the second year of the professional development program; it offers a grid-like bibliography of 57 strategies to help struggling students with issues from having limited reading skills to not meeting deadlines to struggling with math.

Many of the bibliography's articles and titles are readily available via the open Internet (no log on) or via one of our subscription library databases (require log on). Articles that you can easily access have linked titles, while material that is harder to get is followed by links to alternate access. Some may be available via interlibrary loan, while some may be available for purchase. If you have any questions about accessing material, please let us know at richlandlibrary@dcccd.edu.

The bibliography is a long one, so it is being posted in sections.

Focus Friday: Gale Virtual Reference Library

The Gale Virtual Reference Library is one of the most convenient and comprehensive databases that Richland Library offers, and DCCCD students can access it from anywhere there is an Internet connection.

The GVRL contains hundreds of full-text eBooks covering art, biography, business, education, environment, history, law, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, nation and world topics, religion, science, social science and technology.

My love for this database comes from its simplicity in browsing and retrieval. Use the search box located at the top of the home page or browse a particular eBook by clicking on the book itself, which will then display the table of contents.

The GVRL has many features, and allows students to save articles as they browse. By simply clicking the “Save Article” button located below each search result citation, the article is added to the “Saved Articles” list. Users can add up to 50 articles, which is great for writing in-depth research papers. From there, users can email saved articles to themselves or other users.

Create a Gale Bookmark in order to access saved articles after you have logged out.

Other features include the “Translate Article,” “Listen,” and “Download MP3” buttons. The “Translate Article” button includes a drop down list of 12 languages including Arabic, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), and French. Once the language is selected, a new window pops up with the translated article.

The “Listen” tool is also very impressive as the accent of the program reading the words sounds like a native speaker is reading. Users can even download articles and listen a later time. This is quite an amazing tool, and I think it is very good for people who are trying to improve in any language.

One of the most useful features I found was the citation tool, which will generate a citation of the article for you. Use this tool with discretion as some of the citations may have errors.

Working with this database is a great experience when used to its full potential. Check it out and see what you think.

Access it by going to the Richland College Library webpage, clicking on the green "Databases" tab, clicking on the “G” on the A-Z list, and clicking on the link to Gale Virtual Reference Library. (A log on is required outside of the library.)

C. Haynes

Helping our students: Strategy one

Richland's A Framework for Understanding Poverty professional development series is underway again, with this year's sessions highlighting ways in which concepts from Ruby Payne's book have impacted the Richland campus.

The library wants to support this endeavor by helping faculty, staff, and administrators find the articles featured in Payne's companion book Research-Based Strategies: Narrowing the Achievement Gap for Under-Resourced Students.

Research-Based Strategies was introduced during the second year of the professional development program; it offers a grid-like bibliography of 57 strategies to help struggling students with issues from having limited reading skills to not meeting deadlines to struggling with math. 

Many of the bibliography's articles and titles are readily available via the open Internet (no log on) or via one of our subscription library databases (require log on). Articles that you can easily access have linked titles, while material that is harder to get is followed by links to alternate access. Some may be available via interlibrary loan, while some may be available for purchase. If you have any questions about accessing material, please let us know at richlandlibrary@dcccd.edu. 

The bibliography is a long one, so it will be posted in sections. Here is the first installment.

Strategy One: Part One (page 53)

Behrmann, M., & Jerome, M.K. (2002). Assistive technology for students with mild disabilities: Update 2002 (Report No. ED463595). Retrieved from ERIC database.

Bloom, B. Human characteristics and school learning. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976. Print. (Request through interlibrary loan or find a library.)

Education Commission of the States. (1994). The Education Commission of the StatesEducation Reform Reprint Series: Prisoners of time: Report of the National Education Commission on time and learning (Report No. ED489343). Retrieved from http://www.sevenstar.org.

Farbman, D., & Kaplan, C. (2005). Time for a change: The promise of extended-time schools for promoting student achievement. Retrieved September 16, 2013, from Massachusetts 2020 website: http://www.mass2020.org.

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little, Brown.

(Located in the Richland Main Collection at BF 637 .S8 G 533 2008.)



Focus Friday: CQ Researcher

Looking for a basic overview of a tough topic? Working on a current issues assignment and need a thorough topic overview? Trying to get started by searching the open Internet but finding too much or not enough information?

CQ Researcher is the focused resource for you, and you can easily access it through the Richland College Library database pages.

This 90-year-old publication covers one topic per publication and is written by veteran journalists. Each in-depth report includes a topic's overview, background, timeline, and a bibliography. There is also a pro and con feature in each report.

CQ Researcher is published 44 times a year on Fridays. Access it by going to the Richland College Library webpage, clicking on the green "Databases" tab, and clicking on the CQ Researcher link. (A log on is required outside of the library.)

Today's report is "U.S. Trade Policy," and next week's will be "Future of the Arctic." 

Below is a video about the features of the online CQ Researcher and how to use it.

If you have questions about how to use this or any other database, please ask a librarian. You may telephone 972-238-6082 or email richlandlibrary@dcccd.edu. 

Happy researching, 
R.D. 

Wikipedia and Reference Universe: A powerful combination

A study of research habits among college students resulted in a research report accompanied by a YouTube video. Under the heading "Everyday Research," the video had a slide titled "Wikipedia: The Power of an Uncitable Source."

It seemed to me this phrase accurately captured how we ought to think about this controversial research tool. It is indeed powerful but not useful for every purpose. For example, Wikipedia isn't considered a scholarly research-appropriate source.

Academics rightly caution their students not to cite Wikipedia as a source in their research papers and - by the way - so do the creators of Wikipedia.

Ending the conversation there, though, is disingenuous. There are many purposes for which Wikipedia is perfectly suited. (I strongly suspect that even those academics who curse it use it themselves at times.)

So what's it good for? It is good for getting an overview of a subject, seeing what issues surround a subject, getting a grasp of significant terms associated with the subject, and finding references to "citable" sources (citable because they are created by single authors who are accountable for their work).

Rather than steering student researchers away from Wikipedia with a blunt instruction to avoid it all costs, I'd say let them use it for what it's good for -- to inform, to help focus a topic and to open up other research paths.

However, if the subject is one that a classical encyclopedia addresses well, then use those. The Richland Library owns the Encyclopedia Britannica Online and a large selection of print encyclopedias.

To get a good perspective on the depth and breadth of print and online subject encyclopedias, try using a librarian's secret weapon: Reference Universe.

Reference Universe is a little-known online master index to index terms and article titles contained in both electronic and print reference works. More than 20,000 reference works are now represented in the database, and many of these are owned within the district libraries or our library. 

Reference Universe can help you and your students find the best article topic in our own library and library website instead of the often taboo Wikipedia. 

To get to Reference Universe, visit http://www.dcccd.edu/databases, click on "R," and scroll down to find the database link. Questions on how to use it? Let us know at richlandlibrary@dcccd.edu. 

Students, instructors, faculty, and staff with a current DCCCD I.D. will be able to log on from remote locations.

Librarians Do Gaga!

Do you think of librarians as grim, dour relics of a pre-Web era? Sarah Wachter, graduate student at the University of Washington Information School, set out to change that perception and promote the Big 6 method of teaching information literacy with her "Librarians Go Gaga" video which parodies Lady Gaga's "Pokerface."

Enjoy the video and remember, you can always "...use our catalog. Don't forget the databases" via the Richland College Library Web site or drop by the Reference Desk and visit with one of your energetic, highly skilled, search savvy information professionals. We'll "...blow your mind, show you how to find."



Learn more about Sarah Wachter and the video.

Photo by Courtesy Photo.
Performers sing in part of Lady Gaga library parody video

The New Internet Public Library

Two of the most trusted sources for locating credible websites have merged. The Internet Public Library (IPL) and the Librarians’ Internet Index (LII) have joined together to form ipl2: information you can trust. Maintained by a consortium of colleges and universities, ipl2 only lists websites that meet very strict criteria.

One-stop research: The CQ Researcher

One of the Richland Library's most useful resources is the CQ Researcher. These 12,000 word reports contain comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues shaping our world. CQ Researcher is useful to students who need to complete an assignment, prepare for a debate, or become a quick expert on a topic. Each report offers in-depth, unbiased coverage of an important political or social issue. Each CQ Researcher also contains a list of additional sources and links to resources for more information on your topic. You can browse the issues of the CQ Researcher in the Library or you can access it online from the Library's "Databases" tab on our Web site.

New Tool Provides Research Assistance

Research just got easier thanks to a new tool at the Richland College Library. LibGuides is a collection of searchable research guides built by librarians. These guides will direct you to authoritative print and online resources selected by librarians. For example, this general Research Guide will help you get started with most research assignments. We also have guides for specific classes and assignments, such as these guides for Fine Arts Appreciation and an English assignment on The Rebel as Hero.

Librarians aren’t the only ones who get to have fun. You can also contribute these research guides. Most guides allow you leave comments. Some even allow you to suggest or rank resources. See the RCHS Capstone research guide for examples of user-rated resources.

Instructors, if you would like a research guide for one of your classes or assignments, contact your Library Liaison.

Academic Enrichment: Gary Duke

Engineering, Business, and Technology (all disciplines): Jeanetta Burnham

Ethnic Studies, Social Science and Physical Education (all disciplines): Alice Fulbright

Human and Academic Development (all disciplines): Sharlee Jeser-Skaggs

Humanities, Fine and Performing Arts

• Religion: Lennijo Henderson
• All Other Disciplines: Cynthia Clements

Mathematics, Science and Health Professions (all disciplines): Amy Ferguson

Teacher Preparation (all disciplines): Sharlee Jeser-Skaggs

World Languages, Culture and Communication

• Foreign Languages: Lennijo Henderson
• English: Gary Duke
• English for Speakers of Other Languages
• Reading: Sharlee Jeser-Skaggs
• Writing: Alice Fulbright

The old library pathfinder has been reborn!